The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Eamon Gilmore TD joined Mr Sachs to pay tribute to the late Kader Asmal at the unveiling of a plaque at the house in Foxrock, Dublin, where South Africa’s Bill of Rights was written more than 20 years ago.

He remembered Mandela by repeating his words "I believe in equality for all. These are the ideals for which I have lived, and these are the ideals for which I'm prepared to die."

The Tánaiste also welcomed Louise Asmal, the widow of Kader Asmal, to the unveiling.

Mr Gilmore said: “In this house in 1988 an essential element in South Africa’s peace process was created. South Africa’s Bill of Rights served as the bedrock of the subsequent Constitution of South Africa."

"Now, 20 years later, we see a free and democratic South Africa – a testament to the work of the late Kader Asmal and his wife, Louise, Justice Albie Sachs and, indeed, all those who struggled against the evil and inhuman apartheid system.”